A poem from Wide Awake that really speaks to me is "The outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe. It speaks to me because I can relate to it on a very personal level. My family is originally from Mexico, English is my second language, I learned Spanish first. Every stanza from the poem hits on a personal level. I remember when I was younger and I didn't understand what every word meant, it just sounded like random syllables put together. The line that really got to me was the last stanza, "But mark this--I do not belong anywhere. I have an accent in every language I speak". I found this so true, because now that I know both languages and I've been seeking them for most of my life, they have kind of blended together in a way, I speak English with a bit of a Spanish accent, and on the other hand, I speak Spanish with a little bit of an American accent. "I do not belong anywhere", here I am labeled as Mexicans, foreigners, then when I go vacation in Mexico, I am labeled as "white-washed", you can never win.
A poem from Wide awake that caught my attention was "Street Dumb" by Suzanne Lummis because of the way the guy is. I think I'm usually really smart but when it comes to some of the most obvious things I can't sometimes understand them and laugh at myself. This poem had a lot of humor in it even though it involved death, it ends in a humorous way. The way she describes the sirens being heard every night makes it seem very scary because there might be someone dead or someone is left alive like she puts in her poem. She paints a picture in your head when she describes the dead body in the dark as if it was nothing scary or horrible, just more like if it was interesting or nothing. - Armando Contreras
Another poem that really spoke to me from Wide Awake is "Homesick". The poem talks about the persona being in Toronto, but still seeing photographs of the LA freeway everywhere. My favorite line is "Thousands of miles from home/we cannot escape the traffic." This spoke to me because I am very much an adventurer and traveler. I yearn for places I have never been and people I have never met, until I am there. Every time I travel, I, of course, enjoy it and take it all in, but I see signs of home everywhere. No matter how far I go, i find things that remind me of the little tiny town I live in, and love. I connected with the persona in the fact that we both can never truly escape our roots.
A poem from Wide Awake that caught my attention was "I've Always Enjoyed Her Sense of Humor" by Gerald Locklin. This poem speaks to me because it's humorous and simple. It's about two friends who don't see each other very much, but are very comfortable with each other when they do. His friend almost acts like his sister because she's not afraid to mess with him in any situation, such as him talking to a girl. This especially speaks to me because I have a friend who is just like the girl in this poem.
A poem that spoke to me was “Overturned” by Cornelius Eady in The Best American Poetry 2014. Reading through the lines I just related to it more with each stanza. Right now I along with everyone else in this class are going through a point in our life that would help us decide our future, we are working towards our careers and interests. The poem “Overturned” speaks to someone, maybe the audience, who has doubts and wonders if what they are hearing is true. Right now I have doubts whether my major is the right course, it has its pros but I am still not completely sure whether it appeals to me in all honesty so I relate to whoever the author is speaking to in this poem. I followed what information I found in choosing this major with how it is a good field with multiple options and a reliable demand for work even if I have my own doubts. Doubting and over thinking described in this poem only halts progress though as I have seen with my life so I just keep moving and hope I can uncover the truth along the way. Doubts may be present but it is no use losing one’s way in thoughts, it needs action. There were many poems that intrigued me but this one really stood out, it was very relatable. -James Dy
A poem that speaks to me from our text is "My Love Wants to Park," by Eloise Klein Healy. I love this poem because the opening lines remind me of how I first fell in love with my boyfriend. The whole poem speaks of the kind of love you can't control no matter how hard you try. It has a more masculine language, so in my opinion I believe it is perhaps a male speaker. I love the urgency in the tone and the visual imagery of a car driving around the block over and over until it is finally allowed to stop for a while. I think it has a sweet, young-love meaning, which makes it relatable in my opinion.
David Hernandez's poem,"Dear Professor," from our text was very entertaining in addition to relate-able. The struggles that the fictional student faces are humorously depicted with imagery that stimulates the visual senses. The ending of the poem speaks to me as a student considering that the author turns the table on the student to professor relationship by emphasizing how impactful a simple class grade may be to a student's future. From flat tires to family health problems students, and the individual in general, experience several milestones while on the path towards success.
A poem from Wide Awake that really spoke to me was “Untitled Actress” by Amber Tamblyn. Immediately from the first few lines “All ethnicities acceptable. Except Asian American. Caucasian preferable,” I was hooked with this poem because in just a few paragraphs in managed to detail all the things that are horrible about being a woman in the entertainment business, especially a woman of color. Roles now a days are all for quirky, conventionally beautiful white girls of a certain height and weight while women of color, fat women, trans women, gay women, all the diverse subsets of women in the world are entirely overlooked. Even then the poem goes on to describe how shallow and stiff female characters are, the manic pixie dream girl, that doesn’t have any real problems of her own and is only there to be a prize for a man or to fix a mans problems. Some of my favorite lines in the poem were the reported phrase of “no brown eyes” because that already cuts out so many women of color, and reinforces the idea that brown eyes aren’t special. And the very last line that read, “not a speaking role.” I think this poem really spoke to me because I love movies and it bothers me how problematic the industry can be when it comes to proper representation to minority groups, and also to women, who have to be white and quirky and look like they’re perpetually 20 years old to get a leading role with a sexist interpretation of what a “strong female character is” and be romantically paired up with some crusty 50 something year old man.
A poem from Wide Awake that really spoke to me was "Please" by Robert Mezey. It talks about being someones Valentine. It just reminds me of how people get for their loved ones. With Valentines coming around the coroner your going to see a lot of pink and red. For a girl its just a special day to feel special to your love ones even though it should happen once in awhile. It also uses visual imagery. I also liked how they wrote on how to ask the person to be their Valentines.
The poem that I found the most interesting was by Wanda Coleman, titled "Wanda Why aren't you dead?" Throughout this poem, Coleman uses anaphoras. I feel like continuously starting out the line with "Wanda", reminds the reader that this poem is about her, and therefore has actually happened. This poem is made up of multiple phrases that scold Wanda. I really enjoyed this poem because Coleman really drew me in with each line. Each line was filled with such horrible comments but I was still surprised that the next one was just a bit ruder than the last. Also, I enjoyed how she was speaking to herself but with the words of other people.
I enjoyed the poem “Paradox” by Terry Wolverton in Wide Awaken because of the way death and life are portrayed. Humans have contrasted death and life for thousands of years in many ways. At this point in time a person’s perspective is, in my opinion, the only thing new that can be brought to the table. Wolverton describes death as if they are Yin and Yang; this has been done before but the line, “death holds life in its coat pocket” struck me the most because it partially detracts from every other line.
Death is not just inevitable but overwhelming. There are more people dead than are alive today. We are extremely fragile and only exist for a little while in the history of the world. I like that Wolverton acknowledges that while death and life may be contrasted, life will always be small and insignificant compared to death.
The poem "I've Always Enjoyed her Sense of Humor" didn't originally make it onto the favorites list. The narrative itself describes a women approaching a man at an inopportune moment demanding child support. Initially you make think the women is mean for being intentionally difficult or the man is terrible for not providing for his kids on time. It wasn't until after rereading the title did the perspective change. The woman wasn't mean or demanding anything, just making life difficult for a friend as a joke. I know many who share this sense of humor, laughing at our own misfortunes. The poem itself is bland but the title breathes a different life into it, allowing me to relate and share in the inside joke.
A poem that speaks to me in The Best American Poetry 2014 is “vivisection (you’re going to break my heart)” by Marty McConnell. I can completely relate to the internal struggle that the speaker deals with throughout the work; I understand what it means to be willing to offer every part of myself up to a person who I know will eventually break my heart. This painful process, which involves being undeniably open to someone – to the point of having your organs virtually open on an operating table – is a struggle that I have personally been through. As the speaker reveals throughout this contemplation, and as I have also experienced, although we are aware that the eventual outcome is heartbreak, we are more than willing to offer our whole selves up to a person, leaving us with nothing for ourselves in the aftermath. I love this extended metaphor that the speaker utilizes throughout the poem.
Another poem that caught my attention in Wide Awake was "Some Scars" by Wendy C. Ortiz because of the way relationships are being portrayed here. Everyone at some point, once in the life, goes through some hardships, and there are a few who experience them worse than others. In this case, the character suffers from a broken heart and loneliness but then becomes happy when someone new comes along. In a way, it accurately describes what many people go through in life, and no matter who we love, there will be a time when those feelings wane and we simply move on in our lives. Not all relationships stay the same.
A poem that spoke to me was from the book Wide Awake by Robin Coste Lewis called, "Body in August." This poem is from a mother to her child and my experiences as a child reflect to this poem. In the beginning, the child is explaining the story being read by the mother, which is the one that he/she liked but, it has the most meaning and the story of life. She is trying to explain the importance of life to her child, which reminds me of when I speak to my daughter as well. This poem is very religious, how certain thing happen for a reason and stepping into the world with life taught lessons. Also, in the third stanza, last line, "Because no matter how many time I died, I always woke up again-happy,"reminded me of a belief in my culture. We believe that when a person is asleep, his or her soul is with God and that when the person wakes up it is returned. So when it says in the poem no matter how many time I died, in my opinion he's talking about the person being asleep and then always waking up happy; given another chance in life.
A Poem from the book Wide Awake that spoke to me was One of Nine Dogs Taking Obedience Training at Griffith Park" by Marilyn Robertson, first off I love Poems with ridiculously long titles it gives a sense of comedy And this one was about dogs! I'm a big animal lover and i love how the she wrote it from the dogs point of view, and brought up the topic of why the dogs are so blindly obedient.
Amy Uyematsu's "The Accusation" from the book Wide Awake is the poem that practically screamed in my face what I have been feeling for so long. The poem is from the point of view of the wife telling her life story of how her husband lusts after other women right before her eyes and then denies it when he's put on step. The wife's marriage is basically a mirror image of my relationship with my boyfriend of 2 years. We (the wife and I) are constantly complaining that we aren't in a loving relationship, but we're too in love to say "it's over"... well I guess it's more in denial of us rather than that we're in love. Just the thought of being "in love" makes us naive to the reality of an unfaithful/emotionally abusive relationship - it makes us not want to let go. But as the closing line says: "all I'm asking for is one just one good man who'll just be only mine"
A man who will love me for who I am... a man who is loyal... basically, a man who will be with me forever.
That's something that not only I can relate to, but I'm pretty sure most girls can relate to as well.
I find "The Letter" by Dana Gioia very relatable. I think everyone has been in the position that once a relationship is over, there comes a time when there isn't any anger or ill-feelings towards each other anymore. That we eventually are reminded why we loved that person so much, and we can see from a clearer and more mature point of view as to why things ended. I think this poem is about that time in an ex-couple's life. We want to express love and kindness and compassion to those in our past when we are ready. And often times, especially in my personal experience, that kind of "healing" is done via letter.
I like the poem from Wide Awake, Artemis in Echo Park by Eloise Klein Healy. I really enjoyed the imagery that is described in her poem. It makes you imagine the feeling of driving in Los Angeles on the wide freeways and just driving to wherever they lead. I just imagine the sunset going down and driving in Los angeles, seeing all the city lights and different roads. The words that she chose have a very serene tone and a relaxed feel to her poem. The sound of the poem flows and it just reminds me of a nice day dream about a spontaneous trip to L.A.
Any Job by Henry J. Morro from Wide Awake is another poem that stuck out to me. It reminded me of when I'd do work in construction because I've heard similar stories like the ones told in this poem. I've known co-workers that drank with the boss and had a hangover the next day. I've known some that were temporary workers. I've known some that got in fights and were about to get in fights while working, and so on. But they were some of the most hardworking men I've ever met. I was the youngest there, so the guys that I'd work around would talk to me about what I wanted to do, and I noticed that almost every one of them told me to not let the oil fields take over my life. Another thing I noticed is that they are happy to have the opportunity to work, and that they don't care where they work as long as they are making money. I admire their need to work at any job and make the most out of it, and that's why this poem stuck out to me.
Another poem that stuck out to me from Wide Awake was "Some Scars" by Wendy C. Ortiz. In the poem the character faces loneliness, the effects of a relationship going wrong, and the aftermath that follows. I personally think this poem was my favorite because at one point in life we will eventually experience a hard breakup if we haven't already. Every relationship is unique in its own way but we all come out with at least some kind of scar from our past whether it be emotional or I guess even physical.
A poem from Best American Poetry 2014 that spoke to me was “Script Poem” because I found it interesting at how the poem was written like a script but was still a poem. The poem begins like an ordinary yet sad day as words like crow and fog are used to describe the day. As the poem continues, the writer gives off a theme of darkness as the writer uses a “crow unseen cries". The writer later reveals that a crime has occurred and how there is regret and loneliness. The line “black wings flap and enfold her heart” gives more of the dark theme as the person feeling guilty cannot move on from what happened that day.
Another poem that stood out to me in Best American Poetry 2015 was C.A. Conrad's "Wondering About Our Demise While Driving to Disneyland with Abandon." I must admit that the first thing that struck me about this particular piece was its odd name. The title might actually be my favorite aspect of this poem if I am being honest. I feel like the speaker of this poem is trying to convey the message that life keeps going because it really has no set end. No one can tell you when you're going to die so all you can really do is live in the moment and keep pushing forward. Drive with abandon to Disneyland. Just keep going.
Another poem I enjoyed from poets.org was called "Mr.Darcy" by Victoria Chang. At first I thought this poem would be about Pride and Prejudice however it is not. This poem is about male characters in romance novels. As a girl, I know all too well about falling in love with the characters in the novels, however I love the way Chang mocks them. One of my favorite lines is "why does so much love come at the beginning/then disappear then once again at the moment/before death". There are so many struggles, plot twists, and problems throughout the novels that when the ending finally comes, it's exaggerated; made into a fairy tale. But when she said, "little girls dress like princesses one pink one/blue one yellow they wear plastic heels because/they still think they will never fall", I couldn't help but agree. When I was a little girl reading love stories such as Pride and Prejudice, I thought my life would be like that. I didn't know that life was not a fairy tale.
Another poem I really enjoyed reading from "The Best American Poetry 2014" was Cornelius Eady's poem "Overturned". I enjoyed reading it because it portrayed the feeling of uneasiness perfectly. Most poems are usually about love, anger, or just gives off a message of some sort. But this poem just perfectly explains what it feels like to be uneasy. Which is an incredibly hard feeling to describe to someone who does not know what the feeling is. The speaker says "You look like you lost the directions to where you from", which I believe is a perfect way to describe somebody who feels lost, confused, or uncomfortable. - Jeff Ice
Another poem I really enjoyed reading from "The Best American Poetry 2014" was Cornelius Eady's poem "Overturned". I enjoyed reading it because it portrayed the feeling of uneasiness perfectly. Most poems are usually about love, anger, or just gives off a message of some sort. But this poem just perfectly explains what it feels like to be uneasy. Which is an incredibly hard feeling to describe to someone who does not know what the feeling is. The speaker says "You look like you lost the directions to where you from", which I believe is a perfect way to describe somebody who feels lost, confused, or uncomfortable. - Jeff Ice
After hopping around between the different authors, I found that I really enjoyed Rick Lupert's style, particularly in "The Cheese King". The poem has a very light hearted feel in the beginning and is really just a recanting of Rick's experience in a restaurant and what is going on inside his head. But then the poem takes a tastefully serious note at the end, which showed a nice contrast to his goofy personality. I'll definitely be looking into more of his works.
One of the poems that really spoke to me from Wide Awake is Alexis Rhone Fancher's poem "The Seven Stages of Love-an L.A. haiku-noir sequence". I enjoyed this poem because of the way it was presented and the style Fancher used. I also picked it as one of my favorites because of how Fancher describes falling in love with someone in stages. It was a new perspective on the concept of falling in love and she put it in seven stages that described it perfectly and easily.
The two poems that I liked in "Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond" were "L.A. Morning" by Austin Straus and "Damsel Ghost" by Mehnaz Sahibzada. I really loved the poem "L.A. Morning", because Straus is portraying his feelings of contentedness with all in the world, and it is all because in that very moment he knows that his wife and his son love and adore him, which makes all things "vivid" and "glow". I also loved "Damsel Ghost" because of the whole concept behind the poem. I believe that every city girl does need some what of an escape every once and a while, whether it be on a boat in the lake or a trip out of town or even just an afternoon in the back yard with the birds and flowers. And I love the way she makes the necessity of a break from city life seem like a transformation into a different being with a different life completely.
A poem that I like in the book "Wide Awake” was called "The Outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe because i can relate to it. I have family members who are immigrants here and i always hear stories on how people tell them they don’t belong here and how hard it was to get an education and be accepted by people. Although I’m not an immigrant i can still relate to this in a different way. As in i know how it feels to be an outsider and not fit in with the rest of the people. How something like that can make u feel so alone and unadaptable. Its not easy to face it alone but sometimes you have no choice. In my Opinion I feel like there’s going to be a point in your life when you will fee like an outsider, but you will get through it. That is why it speaks to me because I have family members who can relate to that and because I as well has experienced it.
The poem that I found every entertaining came from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond on page 2. It is entitled "Thumb in the Door" by Hilda Weiss. First of all, I love how real this poem is and how it reminded me of the pain I went through as a child not knowing how to properly close doors. I had a habit of smashing my thumb between doors, and eventually I lost an entire nail from it being stuck between the two objects. This poem illustrates what these thumbs are rather than defamiliarizing the subject. The 3 1/2 stanzas where the speaker restates different thumbs that feel and look like "A throbbing that lasted all night. Blood under the nail. It quickly turned black." create this sense of those rushing thoughts you have once you feel this pain. The last three stanzas made the reader realize that the speaker was probably walking into their garage when the smashing occurred. Like any other human being, the speaker forgot what he or she was doing when the accident took place. The repetition of thumb at the end of every description gave the poem an overall playful tone.
After going through poems randomly, I came across one titled "Hope" by Majid Naficy. I like this poem for a few reasons. I enjoyed the allusion the poem begins with that refers to Emily Dickinson's works. I also like how that allusion leads into a metaphor that compares hope to a bird and then to a cricket; bringing to life the two different views of hope. However, the part I liked best was the idea in the last stanza. The idea that although the speaker is left alone and in "exile" they still hear the cricket, hope, calling to them from those surrounding them.
A poem I have read from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond is "Make a Poem" by Harry E. Northup. This poem is interesting because it exemplifies that writing is as simple as you want to be. Nothing has to be too deep and any poem can come from any experience you have had. In the poem it seems like Northup is trying to prove that constructing a poem is what you make it to be. I just liked it because no matter the writer's block anybody is in, you can still make a poem from all the inspirations Northup provided.
The poem that speaks to me is "Standing Up in a Slim Boat" by Cathie Sandstorm. This poem speaks to me because life is all about choices and yet I have to learn more about procrastination. When you feel like your walking on a slim line because how do you know that the career your choosing at 20 is what you want to be for the rest of your life? so to me I feel like I'm walking on a slim line and often feel dismiss because I love my major now but what about in 30 years will I love the job I have?
At the end she writes about balance, college is all about balance, you have to balance time, amount of sleep with exercise and proper diet to keep your brain healthy, you have to balance your classes with easy and harder ones and so on. And each day you wake up with a new drawing board, with new choices to make and some times choices can be very difficult
The second poem that stood out to me in The best America Poetry 2014 is Major Jackson OK Cupid. I like that the repetition of the poem is throughout the whole poem. Also the comparison's goes throughout the poem as well and some of the things I would've never thought could be compared to one another but it works. It gave me something to think about in the sense of asking myself how those things can be similar.
My other comment disappeared. :( The poem that spoke to me was "Dear Professor" by David Hernandez in Wide Awake. I felt bad for the professor by the end. I've had group projects with people like the speaker and I kind of understand the pain. My favorite line was "I want to pass your class and graduate, get a gig, Mary some hottie, see the world, drive until my wheels come wobbling off, and keep driving- but first I need to pass your class," because it was the most ridiculous part. If they really cared about that they would have made an effort to reach out before the two week mark. The professor is made to make or break someone who seems to have had a rough time but I've known people like the speaker and I find it hard to feel bad for the speaker.
I liked the extended metaphor used in "The Letter" by Dana Gioia. It was ambigous enough to be relatable to all different kinds of people. The tone of the poem is hopeless; the letter that would have fixed her life is lost. There may also be some satire in her poem. She could be criticizing people or herself for obsessively waiting for a miraculous word or event to fix everything, instead of changing your own life. Perhaps she is referring to the letters that are in the bible. Instead of learning from experience, she could be bound at the hip to religious doctrine, always waiting for a verse to change her life. It is ironic that she says "God fouled up, And that letter from whoever's in charge...", as if she is a hypocrite to her own belief that God is in charge.
One poem that I came across and enjoyed is, "Hope," by Majid Naficy. The poem includes a reference to Emily Dickinson's personification of the meaning of hope. Naficy contrasts this meaning by explaining that a cricket better personifies hope. Crickets are symbols of good luck and in the context of war it kept the speaker afloat and hopeful. The cricket was vivid in the speaker's childhood memories but disappeared in adulthood. Children's perception of the world is very naive and protected. At the end of the poem the cricket reappears to the speaker and the poem makes a full circle, which is similar to life. The concept of hope reappearing and disappearing is relatable and the reason why I appreciated this poem.
A poem from Wide Awake that really speaks to me is "The Outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe. Though I was born and raised in America, my best friend was not. She never told me she was born and raised in Guatemala and how moving to America affected her life drastically. All she understood was the Spanish language and she had to come into the states not knowing what other people communicated to her. To this day, she is an American and she has her citizenship papers but Guatemala still lives in her heart. In the line, "But mark this - I do not belong anywhere," it reminds me when I hear her speak about home, I know she misses it but she can't help but live in the United States because she wants the opportunity of an education that isn't offered in Guatemala. Yes, she is a Guatemalan American, but I feel like "this" will never be the place she wants to belong.
Woodman, I've been reading The Best American Poetry 2014 and/or Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, and I really like the poem "Overturned" by Cornelius Eady because I could easily relate to the feeling he was describing, and easily compare the expressed feeling with the unexpected visuals and metaphors he used as well. I think it was easier to relate to this poem because of the almost informal language used, almost as if someone was just thinking without there being a heavy formal tone. The first instance that pops into my head when I think of the uneasiness and anxiety described here in this poem, is hearing rumors or gossip from people. This poem illustrates this situation with the lines, "Like someone told you a story, / Maybe the wrong story, / Palm trees where there should / be pine. And now you doubt / Everything. Don’t you hate / doubting everything? There's / An unease the body radiates // When it can't put a finger / On a lie.". Overall, I really enjoyed this poem even if, just for a second, I felt the uneasiness emotion and brought me back to an earlier time of when I actually felt like that.
Woodman, I've been reading The Best American Poetry 2014 and/or Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, and I really like the poem "Overturned" by Cornelius Eady because I could easily relate to the feeling he was describing, and easily compare the expressed feeling with the unexpected visuals and metaphors he used as well. I think it was easier to relate to this poem because of the almost informal language used, almost as if someone was just thinking without there being a heavy formal tone. The first instance that pops into my head when I think of the uneasiness and anxiety described here in this poem, is hearing rumors or gossip from people. This poem illustrates this situation with the lines, "Like someone told you a story, / Maybe the wrong story, / Palm trees where there should / be pine. And now you doubt / Everything. Don’t you hate / doubting everything? There's / An unease the body radiates // When it can't put a finger / On a lie.". Overall, I really enjoyed this poem even if, just for a second, I felt the uneasiness emotion and brought me back to an earlier time of when I actually felt like that.
One poem from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond that I really enjoy is "Make a Poem" by Harry E. Northup. The poem is pretty straight-forward and to the point; it describes different ways in which one can find inspiration to write a poem. The speaker uses an anaphora, "Make a poem from" to exemplify seemingly mundane and normal circumstances in which people can stem their inspiration from. The line "Make a poem from pavement, fragment & black, uneven, broken" is comparing a broken pavement to that of a dark and brooding poem someone may write about. "Make a poem out of fear, vulnerability, poverty of spirit" is an opposing viewpoint where someone with experiences of having to rise up regardless of unfavorable circumstances was led to success. The words and flow of the poem made me enjoy it even more due to the fact that it did not even sound like a poem, it sounded like a story that flowed very nicely and connected well even though each line expressed a new idea. It also gave me inspiration on what I could possibly write about in the future.
A poem that stood out to me from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond was "The Door for Love and Death" by Laurel Ann Bogen. It stood out to me because I feel as if I can be positioned in each of those rooms. Therefore, I can feel the exact emotions that would be brought out for each type of person that should be in the room with those items. It feels personal.
Yet again Tony Barnstone did it again in Commandments. This whole poem sounds just like something a man would say when he is caught cheating. "just a voice from inside commanding you". I have heard many of my friends explain what and how their boyfriends did and this poem sound an awful lot like their heart felt cries. Any man who thinks like this, i need to beware of! Alicia Martin
A poem from Wide Awake that really speaks to me is "The outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe. It speaks to me because I can relate to it on a very personal level. My family is originally from Mexico, English is my second language, I learned Spanish first. Every stanza from the poem hits on a personal level. I remember when I was younger and I didn't understand what every word meant, it just sounded like random syllables put together. The line that really got to me was the last stanza, "But mark this--I do not belong anywhere. I have an accent in every language I speak". I found this so true, because now that I know both languages and I've been seeking them for most of my life, they have kind of blended together in a way, I speak English with a bit of a Spanish accent, and on the other hand, I speak Spanish with a little bit of an American accent. "I do not belong anywhere", here I am labeled as Mexicans, foreigners, then when I go vacation in Mexico, I am labeled as "white-washed", you can never win.
ReplyDeleteA poem from Wide awake that caught my attention was "Street Dumb" by Suzanne Lummis because of the way the guy is. I think I'm usually really smart but when it comes to some of the most obvious things I can't sometimes understand them and laugh at myself. This poem had a lot of humor in it even though it involved death, it ends in a humorous way. The way she describes the sirens being heard every night makes it seem very scary because there might be someone dead or someone is left alive like she puts in her poem. She paints a picture in your head when she describes the dead body in the dark as if it was nothing scary or horrible, just more like if it was interesting or nothing.
ReplyDelete- Armando Contreras
Another poem that really spoke to me from Wide Awake is "Homesick". The poem talks about the persona being in Toronto, but still seeing photographs of the LA freeway everywhere. My favorite line is "Thousands of miles from home/we cannot escape the traffic." This spoke to me because I am very much an adventurer and traveler. I yearn for places I have never been and people I have never met, until I am there. Every time I travel, I, of course, enjoy it and take it all in, but I see signs of home everywhere. No matter how far I go, i find things that remind me of the little tiny town I live in, and love. I connected with the persona in the fact that we both can never truly escape our roots.
ReplyDelete- Sarana McDaniel
A poem from Wide Awake that caught my attention was "I've Always Enjoyed Her Sense of Humor" by Gerald Locklin. This poem speaks to me because it's humorous and simple. It's about two friends who don't see each other very much, but are very comfortable with each other when they do. His friend almost acts like his sister because she's not afraid to mess with him in any situation, such as him talking to a girl. This especially speaks to me because I have a friend who is just like the girl in this poem.
ReplyDeleteA poem that spoke to me was “Overturned” by Cornelius Eady in The Best American Poetry 2014. Reading through the lines I just related to it more with each stanza. Right now I along with everyone else in this class are going through a point in our life that would help us decide our future, we are working towards our careers and interests. The poem “Overturned” speaks to someone, maybe the audience, who has doubts and wonders if what they are hearing is true. Right now I have doubts whether my major is the right course, it has its pros but I am still not completely sure whether it appeals to me in all honesty so I relate to whoever the author is speaking to in this poem. I followed what information I found in choosing this major with how it is a good field with multiple options and a reliable demand for work even if I have my own doubts. Doubting and over thinking described in this poem only halts progress though as I have seen with my life so I just keep moving and hope I can uncover the truth along the way. Doubts may be present but it is no use losing one’s way in thoughts, it needs action. There were many poems that intrigued me but this one really stood out, it was very relatable.
ReplyDelete-James Dy
A poem that speaks to me from our text is "My Love Wants to Park," by Eloise Klein Healy. I love this poem because the opening lines remind me of how I first fell in love with my boyfriend. The whole poem speaks of the kind of love you can't control no matter how hard you try. It has a more masculine language, so in my opinion I believe it is perhaps a male speaker. I love the urgency in the tone and the visual imagery of a car driving around the block over and over until it is finally allowed to stop for a while. I think it has a sweet, young-love meaning, which makes it relatable in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteDavid Hernandez's poem,"Dear Professor," from our text was very entertaining in addition to relate-able. The struggles that the fictional student faces are humorously depicted with imagery that stimulates the visual senses. The ending of the poem speaks to me as a student considering that the author turns the table on the student to professor relationship by emphasizing how impactful a simple class grade may be to a student's future. From flat tires to family health problems students, and the individual in general, experience several milestones while on the path towards success.
ReplyDeleteA poem from Wide Awake that really spoke to me was “Untitled Actress” by Amber Tamblyn. Immediately from the first few lines “All ethnicities acceptable. Except Asian American. Caucasian preferable,” I was hooked with this poem because in just a few paragraphs in managed to detail all the things that are horrible about being a woman in the entertainment business, especially a woman of color. Roles now a days are all for quirky, conventionally beautiful white girls of a certain height and weight while women of color, fat women, trans women, gay women, all the diverse subsets of women in the world are entirely overlooked. Even then the poem goes on to describe how shallow and stiff female characters are, the manic pixie dream girl, that doesn’t have any real problems of her own and is only there to be a prize for a man or to fix a mans problems. Some of my favorite lines in the poem were the reported phrase of “no brown eyes” because that already cuts out so many women of color, and reinforces the idea that brown eyes aren’t special. And the very last line that read, “not a speaking role.” I think this poem really spoke to me because I love movies and it bothers me how problematic the industry can be when it comes to proper representation to minority groups, and also to women, who have to be white and quirky and look like they’re perpetually 20 years old to get a leading role with a sexist interpretation of what a “strong female character is” and be romantically paired up with some crusty 50 something year old man.
ReplyDelete- Stephanie Borges
A poem from Wide Awake that really spoke to me was "Please" by Robert Mezey. It talks about being someones Valentine. It just reminds me of how people get for their loved ones. With Valentines coming around the coroner your going to see a lot of pink and red. For a girl its just a special day to feel special to your love ones even though it should happen once in awhile. It also uses visual imagery. I also liked how they wrote on how to ask the person to be their Valentines.
ReplyDeleteThe poem that I found the most interesting was by Wanda Coleman, titled "Wanda Why aren't you dead?" Throughout this poem, Coleman uses anaphoras. I feel like continuously starting out the line with "Wanda", reminds the reader that this poem is about her, and therefore has actually happened. This poem is made up of multiple phrases that scold Wanda. I really enjoyed this poem because Coleman really drew me in with each line. Each line was filled with such horrible comments but I was still surprised that the next one was just a bit ruder than the last. Also, I enjoyed how she was speaking to herself but with the words of other people.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the poem “Paradox” by Terry Wolverton in Wide Awaken because of the way death and life are portrayed. Humans have contrasted death and life for thousands of years in many ways. At this point in time a person’s perspective is, in my opinion, the only thing new that can be brought to the table. Wolverton describes death as if they are Yin and Yang; this has been done before but the line, “death holds life in its coat pocket” struck me the most because it partially detracts from every other line.
ReplyDeleteDeath is not just inevitable but overwhelming. There are more people dead than are alive today. We are extremely fragile and only exist for a little while in the history of the world. I like that Wolverton acknowledges that while death and life may be contrasted, life will always be small and insignificant compared to death.
-Michael Harp
The poem "I've Always Enjoyed her Sense of Humor" didn't originally make it onto the favorites list. The narrative itself describes a women approaching a man at an inopportune moment demanding child support. Initially you make think the women is mean for being intentionally difficult or the man is terrible for not providing for his kids on time. It wasn't until after rereading the title did the perspective change. The woman wasn't mean or demanding anything, just making life difficult for a friend as a joke. I know many who share this sense of humor, laughing at our own misfortunes. The poem itself is bland but the title breathes a different life into it, allowing me to relate and share in the inside joke.
ReplyDeleteA poem that speaks to me in The Best American Poetry 2014 is “vivisection (you’re going to break my heart)” by Marty McConnell. I can completely relate to the internal struggle that the speaker deals with throughout the work; I understand what it means to be willing to offer every part of myself up to a person who I know will eventually break my heart. This painful process, which involves being undeniably open to someone – to the point of having your organs virtually open on an operating table – is a struggle that I have personally been through. As the speaker reveals throughout this contemplation, and as I have also experienced, although we are aware that the eventual outcome is heartbreak, we are more than willing to offer our whole selves up to a person, leaving us with nothing for ourselves in the aftermath. I love this extended metaphor that the speaker utilizes throughout the poem.
ReplyDeleteAnother poem that caught my attention in Wide Awake was "Some Scars" by Wendy C. Ortiz because of the way relationships are being portrayed here. Everyone at some point, once in the life, goes through some hardships, and there are a few who experience them worse than others. In this case, the character suffers from a broken heart and loneliness but then becomes happy when someone new comes along. In a way, it accurately describes what many people go through in life, and no matter who we love, there will be a time when those feelings wane and we simply move on in our lives. Not all relationships stay the same.
ReplyDelete-Ashley Green
A poem that spoke to me was from the book Wide Awake by Robin Coste Lewis called, "Body in August." This poem is from a mother to her child and my experiences as a child reflect to this poem. In the beginning, the child is explaining the story being read by the mother, which is the one that he/she liked but, it has the most meaning and the story of life. She is trying to explain the importance of life to her child, which reminds me of when I speak to my daughter as well. This poem is very religious, how certain thing happen for a reason and stepping into the world with life taught lessons. Also, in the third stanza, last line, "Because no matter how many time I died, I always woke up again-happy,"reminded me of a belief in my culture. We believe that when a person is asleep, his or her soul is with God and that when the person wakes up it is returned. So when it says in the poem no matter how many time I died, in my opinion he's talking about the person being asleep and then always waking up happy; given another chance in life.
ReplyDeleteA Poem from the book Wide Awake that spoke to me was One of Nine Dogs Taking Obedience Training at Griffith Park" by Marilyn Robertson, first off I love Poems with ridiculously long titles it gives a sense of comedy And this one was about dogs! I'm a big animal lover and i love how the she wrote it from the dogs point of view, and brought up the topic of why the dogs are so blindly obedient.
ReplyDelete---Ranay Knight
Amy Uyematsu's "The Accusation" from the book Wide Awake is the poem that practically screamed in my face what I have been feeling for so long. The poem is from the point of view of the wife telling her life story of how her husband lusts after other women right before her eyes and then denies it when he's put on step. The wife's marriage is basically a mirror image of my relationship with my boyfriend of 2 years. We (the wife and I) are constantly complaining that we aren't in a loving relationship, but we're too in love to say "it's over"... well I guess it's more in denial of us rather than that we're in love. Just the thought of being "in love" makes us naive to the reality of an unfaithful/emotionally abusive relationship - it makes us not want to let go. But as the closing line says:
ReplyDelete"all I'm asking for is one
just one good man
who'll just be only mine"
A man who will love me for who I am... a man who is loyal... basically, a man who will be with me forever.
That's something that not only I can relate to, but I'm pretty sure most girls can relate to as well.
I find "The Letter" by Dana Gioia very relatable. I think everyone has been in the position that once a relationship is over, there comes a time when there isn't any anger or ill-feelings towards each other anymore. That we eventually are reminded why we loved that person so much, and we can see from a clearer and more mature point of view as to why things ended. I think this poem is about that time in an ex-couple's life. We want to express love and kindness and compassion to those in our past when we are ready. And often times, especially in my personal experience, that kind of "healing" is done via letter.
ReplyDeleteI like the poem from Wide Awake, Artemis in Echo Park by Eloise Klein Healy. I really enjoyed the imagery that is described in her poem. It makes you imagine the feeling of driving in Los Angeles on the wide freeways and just driving to wherever they lead. I just imagine the sunset going down and driving in Los angeles, seeing all the city lights and different roads. The words that she chose have a very serene tone and a relaxed feel to her poem. The sound of the poem flows and it just reminds me of a nice day dream about a spontaneous trip to L.A.
ReplyDeleteAny Job by Henry J. Morro from Wide Awake is another poem that stuck out to me. It reminded me of when I'd do work in construction because I've heard similar stories like the ones told in this poem. I've known co-workers that drank with the boss and had a hangover the next day. I've known some that were temporary workers. I've known some that got in fights and were about to get in fights while working, and so on. But they were some of the most hardworking men I've ever met. I was the youngest there, so the guys that I'd work around would talk to me about what I wanted to do, and I noticed that almost every one of them told me to not let the oil fields take over my life. Another thing I noticed is that they are happy to have the opportunity to work, and that they don't care where they work as long as they are making money. I admire their need to work at any job and make the most out of it, and that's why this poem stuck out to me.
ReplyDelete- Hugo Hernandez
Another poem that stuck out to me from Wide Awake was "Some Scars" by Wendy C. Ortiz. In the poem the character faces loneliness, the effects of a relationship going wrong, and the aftermath that follows. I personally think this poem was my favorite because at one point in life we will eventually experience a hard breakup if we haven't already. Every relationship is unique in its own way but we all come out with at least some kind of scar from our past whether it be emotional or I guess even physical.
ReplyDelete-Crystal Magana
A poem from Best American Poetry 2014 that spoke to me was “Script Poem” because I found it interesting at how the poem was written like a script but was still a poem. The poem begins like an ordinary yet sad day as words like crow and fog are used to describe the day. As the poem continues, the writer gives off a theme of darkness as the writer uses a “crow unseen cries". The writer later reveals that a crime has occurred and how there is regret and loneliness. The line “black wings flap and enfold her heart” gives more of the dark theme as the person feeling guilty cannot move on from what happened that day.
ReplyDelete- Mariela Andrade
Another poem that stood out to me in Best American Poetry 2015 was C.A. Conrad's "Wondering About Our Demise While Driving to Disneyland with Abandon." I must admit that the first thing that struck me about this particular piece was its odd name. The title might actually be my favorite aspect of this poem if I am being honest. I feel like the speaker of this poem is trying to convey the message that life keeps going because it really has no set end. No one can tell you when you're going to die so all you can really do is live in the moment and keep pushing forward. Drive with abandon to Disneyland. Just keep going.
ReplyDelete-Kristin Galetano
Another poem I enjoyed from poets.org was called "Mr.Darcy" by Victoria Chang. At first I thought this poem would be about Pride and Prejudice however it is not. This poem is about male characters in romance novels. As a girl, I know all too well about falling in love with the characters in the novels, however I love the way Chang mocks them. One of my favorite lines is "why does so much love come at the beginning/then disappear then once again at the moment/before death". There are so many struggles, plot twists, and problems throughout the novels that when the ending finally comes, it's exaggerated; made into a fairy tale. But when she said, "little girls dress like princesses one pink one/blue one yellow they wear plastic heels because/they still think they will never fall", I couldn't help but agree. When I was a little girl reading love stories such as Pride and Prejudice, I thought my life would be like that. I didn't know that life was not a fairy tale.
ReplyDeleteAnother poem I really enjoyed reading from "The Best American Poetry 2014" was Cornelius Eady's poem "Overturned". I enjoyed reading it because it portrayed the feeling of uneasiness perfectly. Most poems are usually about love, anger, or just gives off a message of some sort. But this poem just perfectly explains what it feels like to be uneasy. Which is an incredibly hard feeling to describe to someone who does not know what the feeling is. The speaker says "You look like you lost the directions to where you from", which I believe is a perfect way to describe somebody who feels lost, confused, or uncomfortable.
ReplyDelete- Jeff Ice
Another poem I really enjoyed reading from "The Best American Poetry 2014" was Cornelius Eady's poem "Overturned". I enjoyed reading it because it portrayed the feeling of uneasiness perfectly. Most poems are usually about love, anger, or just gives off a message of some sort. But this poem just perfectly explains what it feels like to be uneasy. Which is an incredibly hard feeling to describe to someone who does not know what the feeling is. The speaker says "You look like you lost the directions to where you from", which I believe is a perfect way to describe somebody who feels lost, confused, or uncomfortable.
ReplyDelete- Jeff Ice
After hopping around between the different authors, I found that I really enjoyed Rick Lupert's style, particularly in "The Cheese King". The poem has a very light hearted feel in the beginning and is really just a recanting of Rick's experience in a restaurant and what is going on inside his head. But then the poem takes a tastefully serious note at the end, which showed a nice contrast to his goofy personality. I'll definitely be looking into more of his works.
ReplyDeleteOne of the poems that really spoke to me from Wide Awake is Alexis Rhone Fancher's poem "The Seven Stages of Love-an L.A. haiku-noir sequence". I enjoyed this poem because of the way it was presented and the style Fancher used. I also picked it as one of my favorites because of how Fancher describes falling in love with someone in stages. It was a new perspective on the concept of falling in love and she put it in seven stages that described it perfectly and easily.
ReplyDelete-Arcely Ramos
The two poems that I liked in "Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond" were "L.A. Morning" by Austin Straus and "Damsel Ghost" by Mehnaz Sahibzada. I really loved the poem "L.A. Morning", because Straus is portraying his feelings of contentedness with all in the world, and it is all because in that very moment he knows that his wife and his son love and adore him, which makes all things "vivid" and "glow". I also loved "Damsel Ghost" because of the whole concept behind the poem. I believe that every city girl does need some what of an escape every once and a while, whether it be on a boat in the lake or a trip out of town or even just an afternoon in the back yard with the birds and flowers. And I love the way she makes the necessity of a break from city life seem like a transformation into a different being with a different life completely.
ReplyDeleteA poem that I like in the book "Wide Awake” was called "The Outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe because i can relate to it. I have family members who are immigrants here and i always hear stories on how people tell them they don’t belong here and how hard it was to get an education and be accepted by people. Although I’m not an immigrant i can still relate to this in a different way. As in i know how it feels to be an outsider and not fit in with the rest of the people. How something like that can make u feel so alone and unadaptable. Its not easy to face it alone but sometimes you have no choice. In my Opinion I feel like there’s going to be a point in your life when you will fee like an outsider, but you will get through it. That is why it speaks to me because I have family members who can relate to that and because I as well has experienced it.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Herrera
The poem that I found every entertaining came from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond on page 2. It is entitled "Thumb in the Door" by Hilda Weiss. First of all, I love how real this poem is and how it reminded me of the pain I went through as a child not knowing how to properly close doors. I had a habit of smashing my thumb between doors, and eventually I lost an entire nail from it being stuck between the two objects. This poem illustrates what these thumbs are rather than defamiliarizing the subject. The 3 1/2 stanzas where the speaker restates different thumbs that feel and look like "A throbbing that lasted all night. Blood under the nail. It quickly turned black." create this sense of those rushing thoughts you have once you feel this pain. The last three stanzas made the reader realize that the speaker was probably walking into their garage when the smashing occurred. Like any other human being, the speaker forgot what he or she was doing when the accident took place. The repetition of thumb at the end of every description gave the poem an overall playful tone.
ReplyDeleteAfter going through poems randomly, I came across one titled "Hope" by Majid Naficy. I like this poem for a few reasons. I enjoyed the allusion the poem begins with that refers to Emily Dickinson's works. I also like how that allusion leads into a metaphor that compares hope to a bird and then to a cricket; bringing to life the two different views of hope. However, the part I liked best was the idea in the last stanza. The idea that although the speaker is left alone and in "exile" they still hear the cricket, hope, calling to them from those surrounding them.
ReplyDelete-Ashlee DeMalade
A poem I have read from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond is "Make a Poem" by Harry E. Northup. This poem is interesting because it exemplifies that writing is as simple as you want to be. Nothing has to be too deep and any poem can come from any experience you have had. In the poem it seems like Northup is trying to prove that constructing a poem is what you make it to be. I just liked it because no matter the writer's block anybody is in, you can still make a poem from all the inspirations Northup provided.
ReplyDelete-Pablo Casas
The poem that speaks to me is "Standing Up in a Slim Boat" by Cathie Sandstorm. This poem speaks to me because life is all about choices and yet I have to learn more about procrastination. When you feel like your walking on a slim line because how do you know that the career your choosing at 20 is what you want to be for the rest of your life? so to me I feel like I'm walking on a slim line and often feel dismiss because I love my major now but what about in 30 years will I love the job I have?
ReplyDeleteAt the end she writes about balance, college is all about balance, you have to balance time, amount of sleep with exercise and proper diet to keep your brain healthy, you have to balance your classes with easy and harder ones and so on. And each day you wake up with a new drawing board, with new choices to make and some times choices can be very difficult
The second poem that stood out to me in The best America Poetry 2014 is Major Jackson OK Cupid. I like that the repetition of the poem is throughout the whole poem. Also the comparison's goes throughout the poem as well and some of the things I would've never thought could be compared to one another but it works. It gave me something to think about in the sense of asking myself how those things can be similar.
ReplyDelete~Marqualla Thomas
My other comment disappeared. :(
ReplyDeleteThe poem that spoke to me was "Dear Professor" by David Hernandez in Wide Awake. I felt bad for the professor by the end. I've had group projects with people like the speaker and I kind of understand the pain. My favorite line was "I want to pass your class and graduate, get a gig, Mary some hottie, see the world, drive until my wheels come wobbling off, and keep driving- but first I need to pass your class," because it was the most ridiculous part. If they really cared about that they would have made an effort to reach out before the two week mark. The professor is made to make or break someone who seems to have had a rough time but I've known people like the speaker and I find it hard to feel bad for the speaker.
Iesha Clouden
I liked the extended metaphor used in "The Letter" by Dana Gioia. It was ambigous enough to be relatable to all different kinds of people. The tone of the poem is hopeless; the letter that would have fixed her life is lost. There may also be some satire in her poem. She could be criticizing people or herself for obsessively waiting for a miraculous word or event to fix everything, instead of changing your own life. Perhaps she is referring to the letters that are in the bible. Instead of learning from experience, she could be bound at the hip to religious doctrine, always waiting for a verse to change her life. It is ironic that she says "God fouled up, And that letter from whoever's in charge...", as if she is a hypocrite to her own belief that God is in charge.
ReplyDelete-Allie Darling
One poem that I came across and enjoyed is, "Hope," by Majid Naficy. The poem includes a reference to Emily Dickinson's personification of the meaning of hope. Naficy contrasts this meaning by explaining that a cricket better personifies hope. Crickets are symbols of good luck and in the context of war it kept the speaker afloat and hopeful. The cricket was vivid in the speaker's childhood memories but disappeared in adulthood. Children's perception of the world is very naive and protected. At the end of the poem the cricket reappears to the speaker and the poem makes a full circle, which is similar to life. The concept of hope reappearing and disappearing is relatable and the reason why I appreciated this poem.
ReplyDeleteAlee Gonzalez
A poem from Wide Awake that really speaks to me is "The Outsider" by Sholeh Wolpe. Though I was born and raised in America, my best friend was not. She never told me she was born and raised in Guatemala and how moving to America affected her life drastically. All she understood was the Spanish language and she had to come into the states not knowing what other people communicated to her. To this day, she is an American and she has her citizenship papers but Guatemala still lives in her heart. In the line, "But mark this - I do not belong anywhere," it reminds me when I hear her speak about home, I know she misses it but she can't help but live in the United States because she wants the opportunity of an education that isn't offered in Guatemala. Yes, she is a Guatemalan American, but I feel like "this" will never be the place she wants to belong.
ReplyDeleteWoodman, I've been reading The Best American Poetry 2014 and/or Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, and I really like the poem "Overturned" by Cornelius Eady because I could easily relate to the feeling he was describing, and easily compare the expressed feeling with the unexpected visuals and metaphors he used as well. I think it was easier to relate to this poem because of the almost informal language used, almost as if someone was just thinking without there being a heavy formal tone. The first instance that pops into my head when I think of the uneasiness and anxiety described here in this poem, is hearing rumors or gossip from people. This poem illustrates this situation with the lines, "Like someone told you a story, / Maybe the wrong story, / Palm trees where there should / be pine. And now you doubt / Everything. Don’t you hate / doubting everything? There's / An unease the body radiates // When it can't put a finger / On a lie.". Overall, I really enjoyed this poem even if, just for a second, I felt the uneasiness emotion and brought me back to an earlier time of when I actually felt like that.
ReplyDeleteWoodman, I've been reading The Best American Poetry 2014 and/or Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond, and I really like the poem "Overturned" by Cornelius Eady because I could easily relate to the feeling he was describing, and easily compare the expressed feeling with the unexpected visuals and metaphors he used as well. I think it was easier to relate to this poem because of the almost informal language used, almost as if someone was just thinking without there being a heavy formal tone. The first instance that pops into my head when I think of the uneasiness and anxiety described here in this poem, is hearing rumors or gossip from people. This poem illustrates this situation with the lines, "Like someone told you a story, / Maybe the wrong story, / Palm trees where there should / be pine. And now you doubt / Everything. Don’t you hate / doubting everything? There's / An unease the body radiates // When it can't put a finger / On a lie.". Overall, I really enjoyed this poem even if, just for a second, I felt the uneasiness emotion and brought me back to an earlier time of when I actually felt like that.
ReplyDeleteOne poem from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond that I really enjoy is "Make a Poem" by Harry E. Northup. The poem is pretty straight-forward and to the point; it describes different ways in which one can find inspiration to write a poem. The speaker uses an anaphora, "Make a poem from" to exemplify seemingly mundane and normal circumstances in which people can stem their inspiration from. The line "Make a poem from pavement, fragment & black, uneven, broken" is comparing a broken pavement to that of a dark and brooding poem someone may write about. "Make a poem out of fear, vulnerability, poverty of spirit" is an opposing viewpoint where someone with experiences of having to rise up regardless of unfavorable circumstances was led to success. The words and flow of the poem made me enjoy it even more due to the fact that it did not even sound like a poem, it sounded like a story that flowed very nicely and connected well even though each line expressed a new idea. It also gave me inspiration on what I could possibly write about in the future.
ReplyDeleteA poem that stood out to me from Wide Awake: Poets of Los Angeles and Beyond was "The Door for Love and Death" by Laurel Ann Bogen. It stood out to me because I feel as if I can be positioned in each of those rooms. Therefore, I can feel the exact emotions that would be brought out for each type of person that should be in the room with those items. It feels personal.
ReplyDeleteYet again Tony Barnstone did it again in Commandments. This whole poem sounds just like something a man would say when he is caught cheating. "just a voice from inside commanding you". I have heard many of my friends explain what and how their boyfriends did and this poem sound an awful lot like their heart felt cries. Any man who thinks like this, i need to beware of!
ReplyDeleteAlicia Martin